iCloud storage limited in Books

Question

Level 1

12 points

iCloud storage limited in Books

I originally used my 5GB of free iCloud storage to store Books to read on various devices. Then I purchased the 200 GB iCloud storage option and put lots of photos there. The iCloud preference shows that I have 111 GB still unused. But Books still reports that I am over my limit when I add a book. Somehow it still thinks that my limit is 5GB.

I might as well cancel my 200 GB storage as I really don't need to store photos in iCloud.

Any ideas how to overcome this limitation in Books?

Also, I do have. a 1GB book I purchased in the Apple Bookstore. Does this count against my iCloud storage limit?

Mac mini 2018 or later

Posted on Mar 7, 2020 6:39 PM

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Answer 1

CarlAVII

Community Specialist

Mar 8, 2020 11:39 AM in response to RWCarr

Hello RWCarr,

Welcome to the Apple Support Communities, and I understand there's a message about Books reporting that it is over the iCloud limit. I'll do what I can to help.

Here are some suggestions and possibilities:

Some files may go against iCloud storage if they are stored there. Check the storage from the device you're using to see if it's displaying how much Books is taking up: Manage your iCloud storage
Just to be sure, verify the message isn't coming from the Mac you're using instead of iCloud which will have different storage: How to free up storage space on your Mac
Purchases from the Book Store should not go against your iCloud storage as they are stored on your Apple account. They will only go against your device storage if you download it.

Enjoy your day.

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Answer 2

RWCarr Author

Level 1

12 points

Mar 8, 2020 12:49 PM in response to CarlAVII

Hi PsyDye,

Thanks for all the info.

Books use of iCloud storage is very weird. I have deleted a lot of old Books to get under the 5 GB limit, so don't have a problem any more. I've gone through all the "Manage your iCloud Storage" documentation and everything tells me that I still have over 100GB of unused storage. But Books wouldn't allow me to add access new books via iCloud if it would put me over 5 GB.

I'm on a Mac Mini (OSX 10.14.6). I'm a pretty sophisticated Mac user; started with the 512K in 1985. I've looked through all sort of iCloud management on both Mac and iPhone/iPad and can't understand what is going on.

Books is not very user-friendly. Doesn't give you anyway to create a report on your books. I guess it is just a vehicle for Apple to compete with Amazon selling ebooks, so we shouldn't expect it to be as fully featured as a general repository like Calibre.

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iCloud storage limited in Books

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